Barney
Barney & Friends is a children's television show produced in the United States, mainly aimed at preschoolers, starring a large purple dinosaur named Barney. Origin and development of show Barney, with his purple body complete with a green belly and yellow toenails, was created in 1987 by Sheryl Leach of Dallas, Texas. While stuck in one of the city's frequent traffic jams, she was thinking about video ideas which would appeal to her young son. She then brought together a team which created a series of home videos, the first being (Barney and the Backyard Gang) which also starred actress Sandy Duncan. Although the videos were a modest regional success, Barney only became a megahit when picked up by the Public Broadcasting System and debuting as "Barney & Friends" in 1992. For several years, the show was taped at the ColorDynamics Studios facility at Greenville Avenue & Bethany Drive in Allen, Texas, after which it moved to The Studios at Las Colinas in Las Colinas, Texas. Currently, the series shoots in a northern suburb of Dallas. The TV series and videotapes are distributed by HIT Entertainment. Barney & Friends was made possible by Connecticut Public Television, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, Chuck E Cheese's, Chef JR., Kellogg's Frosted Flakes, Kimberly-Clark Corporation, Mead Johnson, Public Broadcasting Service), and Viewers Like You. Typical episode In the many episodes, Barney's human friends bring him to life and play many games with him. Aside from many human actors of a highly diverse ethnic mix, Barney's friends include other plush dinosaurs, such as Baby Bop and her brother, B.J.. They sing songs with simple lyrics and typically repetitive melodies that teach the alphabet, counting, etiquette, colors, good friendship, and the value of imagination. Although beloved by its target demographic, it has a reputation of being somewhat tedious for older people to watch. Unlike the previous crownholder of children's television, Sesame Street, every word spoken in "Barney & Friends" is completely accessible to kids and the writers do not throw in witty lines and sophisticated cultural references to amuse the adults in the audience. Every episode begins with its opener sung to the tune of "Yankee Doodle" and ends with a rendition of "I Love You", the song that has become a signature of the show, with its melody lifted from "This Old Man" and lyrics penned by Lee Bernstein. Trademark sayings associated with the show include Barney's "Super-dee-duper!" and Tina (played by child actor Jessica Zucha)'s overdramatized "That's greaaat, Barney!" Products In 1992 and 1993, since Barney & Friends was so popular (as the dino was himself), Barney products started to be sold. Things like toys, videos, books, dolls, CDs and even a Barney video game for Sega Genesis was released. In addition, Microsoft's Actimates Barney toy was the hot item for the holidays in 1997. Criticism and Anti-Barney humor :See also Anti-Barney Humor The show has been criticized as excessively sappy and optimistic; song lyrics such as "With a great big hug and a kiss from me to you/Won't you say you love me too?", as well as the often overexaggerated delivery of its young actors, have sometimes made it the target of parody. Soon after the show debuted, vicious editorial cartoons and song parodies showing Barney getting killed appeared. Most of them were made up by children; one of the most popular is "I Hate You", which is still a favorite at elementary schools everywhere. Barney has also been parodied in many older children's cartoons or in adult animation. For example, there is a Barney look-alike in The Simpsons season 9 episode "The Joy of Sect", and there is an Animaniacs episode that features a orange dinosaur similar to Barney, named Baloney, who is shown getting physically abused. Additional criticism was lobbed at the educational value of the content. Critics have contended that Barney was not intended to teach anything, but instead to sell merchandise and openly encouraged parents to use the program as a "babysitter" for their children, a criticism that would be repeated years later over programs such as Teletubbies. Despite this criticism and ridicule, the show is still one of the most popular television shows among young children. Cast * Adam (Alexander Jhin) * Amy (Becky Swonke) * Barney(voice) (1988, 2000, and 2001 Bob West) * Barney(voice) (Sometimes in 1998, 2000 and 2001 Duncan Brennan) * Barney(voice) (Sometimes in 2000, 2001 and 2002 Tim Dever) * Barney(voice) (2002-present Dean Wendt ) * Barney (1991-2002, (David Joyner) * Barney (1988-1991, (David Voss) * Barney (1997 and 2004, Maurice Scott) * Barney (2000 and 2001, Antwaun Steele) * Barney (1997, and 1998 Josh Martin) * Baby Bop (1991, Dao Knight) * Baby Bop (1992, Jenny Dempsey) * Baby Bop (1994, Carol Farabee- voice) * B.J. (Jeff Brooks) * B.J. (Patty Wirtz - voice) * B.J. (1993, (Jenny Dempsey) * David (1993, Kenny Copper) * Derek (Rickey Carter) * Jason (Salim Grant) * Julie (Susannah Wetzel) * Kathy (Lauren King) * Luci (Leah Gloria) * Michael (Brian Eppes) * Min (Pia Manalo) * Mom (1988-1989, Sandy Duncan) * Professor Tinkerputt (Barry Pearl) * Shawn (John David Bennett) * Tina (Jessica Zucha) * Tosha (Hope Cervantes) * Mary Ann Brewer as Julie's Aunt/Storyteller in "The Alphabet Zoo" * Saint Adeogba as Aunt Rachel in "Aunt Rachel Is Here" * R. Bruce Elliott as Mr. Tenagain, in "Having Tens of Fun" * Stephen White as Rainbowbeard the Pirate in "Treasure of Rainbowbeard" * Sonya Resendeze as Tina's Mom from Barney & The Backyard Gang: "Campfire Sing-Along" * Ella Jenkins as herself in "A Very Special Delivery !" * J.D. Mosley, David Courtney, Mario and Tiffany Starghill as Tosha's Family in "A Very Special Delivery !" * Joe Scruggs as himself in "The Exercise Circus ! * Sandy Walper as Mother Goose in "Let's Help Mother Goose!" * Max Vaughan as Farmer Henderson in "Down On Barney's Farm" * Tomie dePaola as himself in 3 or 4 episodes (can't list them all) * Farnk Crim as Firefighter Frank in "I Want To Be A Firefighter" * James Turner as himself in "Eat, Drink And Be Heathly" * Rebecca Graice as herself in "¡Hola, Mexico!" See Also *List of Barney & Friends episodes and videos External links * Official Website * http://www.groups.yahoo.com/group/ClassicBarney * Satirical scientific paper on taxonomy of Barney * A Fansite for the early Barney shows * A message board for all Barney fans Barney & Friends Category:PBS network shows Category:Fictional dinosaurs Category:1990s TV shows in the United States Category:2000s TV shows in the United States Category:Pop culture television Category:1990s fads